1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with an improved, high protein, shelf-stable, crisp extruded snack product characterized by relatively high meat content and improved organoleptic properties. More particularly, the invention is concerned with such a snack product, and a method of fabricating the same, wherein the product is a cellular, expanded, extruded snack made from a starting mixture including at least about 15% by weight meat (e.g., mechanically deboned poultry meat) and at least about 50% by weight wheat. In fabrication procedures, an initial mixture comprising meat and wheat flour is passed through an extrusion cooker under conditions to yield the desired expanded product. The extrudate is then dried and a flavoring is topically applied thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The quantity of snack products produced and consumed in the United States and around the world is of immense proportions. Many such snacks are produced using high capacity extrusion equipment, and are farinaceous in character (e.g., corn chips). While the consumption of these products is large and widespread, there is a definite concern about the lack of quality nutrition inherent in these products. That is to say, typical snack products are relatively high in calories and fat, and correspondingly low in protein. As a consequence, health conscious consumers are seeking alternate snack products not having these nutritional drawbacks.
The poultry industry generates an enormous amount of an under-utilized protein source in the form of mechanically deboned poultry meat (MDPM). This product, obtained from mechanical deboners in chicken or turkey processing plants, is in the form of an emulsion. Because of this factor, this poultry meat is most often used in emulsion type operations, such as bolognas and franks. It has been suggested to mix MDPM with soy flour and form a chicken loaf. Moreover, attempts have been made in the past to produce extruded meat-vegetable protein sticks and sausages, see "Extrusion and Texturizing in the Manufacture of Poultry Products," Food Technology, April, 1979, pp. 48-51. However, these products are not generally considered as snacks, and do not have the desirable organoleptic properties demanded by consumers in the context of snack products.
Dry and semi-moist pet food products have been proposed in the past which include meat and meat byproducts. However, these products are of the high-energy, high-fat variety having relatively large quantities of fat therein. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,187 describes a dry pet food having at least about 71/2% fat. In addition, a number of other references describe meat-containing extruded pet foods having added fat in addition to fat inherent in the normal ingredients thereof; when total fat levels are considered, they are on the order of 5-10% or greater. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,011,345, 4,055,681, 4,524,081, 4,104,407, and 3,908,025.
Extruded human food products have also been produced in the past which include various meat products. Here again, however, these prior products are characterized by relatively high fat contents, making them unsuitable for diet-conscious consumers. At the same time, these products cannot provide desirable organoleptic products for a snack food. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,026,572, 4,418,016, 4,900,572, and 4,225,630.